


Cover For Me

by MachineQueen



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Bad dad club angst, Cats, Gen, M/M, Romantic if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 13:23:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20724905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MachineQueen/pseuds/MachineQueen
Summary: Felix and Sylvain are both good at hiding - but for very different reasons.





	Cover For Me

There was a tiny path at the back of the dormitories that nobody used apart from the cats. It led to a door that probably once had a purpose but now stood lonely and unopened. Felix had tried breaking through but his best kick didn’t even judder it. A tell tale shimmer made it evident that it had been sealed with magic. Maybe he’d get in trouble if he was caught loitering here? Oh well. It wasn’t like it really mattered.

It was too narrow to swing a cat, let alone a sword. But there was a pile of crates so he could sit and make a start on the catchily named ‘Sword Thinking: Your Mind As A Weapon’. It sounded like crap but the Professor insisted he read it in preparation for something she called ‘team building exercises’. Felix loathed team building exercises. What was building towers out of uncooked spaghetti supposed to teach him anyway? 

(Annette’s tower stood the longest. Dimitri tried to pretend he was a gracious loser.)

Huffing, he bent to pick up a ginger cat so he could steal its spot on one of the crates. _Too bad, Cat,_ he thought. _Humans have the advantage._ The cat mewed and batted one of his boot laces in protest as he set it down. Felix ignored it and opened the book. His attempt to read was soon thwarted as the cat had decided that if it couldn’t sit on the crate it would have to sit on Felix instead. Its head got in the way of the pages.

_ __ _

_ __ _

“Stupid cat. You have a brain the size of a pea,” Felix told it. But then he scratched its ears because it was on his lap anyway. If it was trying to solicit food through being cute, it was a wasted effort. Felix hadn’t had time to grab anything. He hoped the kitchen would have leftovers later. 

The cat’s purr was loud in the hushed pathway. The lack of people made Felix feel like he finally had room to breathe. It was difficult to escape in the monastery. But now he’d found this place, maybe he could claim it as his own private spot. Sure, there was his room. But people could still find him there and bother him about things that weren’t sword fighting. 

Felix closed his eyes and enjoyed the peace. Unfortunately it was short lived. 

Footsteps thundered towards him. Felix’s spirits soured even further when Sylvain came skidding into view. He even had the nerve to look shocked at Felix sitting and minding his own business. 

“Felix! Get out of the way!”

“I’m not in your way. Idiot.”

“I need to hide, so get up. Now!”

“Hide?”

“Under the crate! Quick, she’s coming!”

“Why should I-”

Before Felix could protest, Sylvain had shoved him off the crate. The cat meowed indignantly and Felix landed with an undignified thud on the ground.

“Sylvain,” he said in his best growl. But Sylvain was already heaving the crate off the ground and squeezing himself underneath it, oragami-ing his elbows and tucking himself into a ball. These were practiced movements - clearly this wasn’t the first time he’d done something like this. 

Felix huffed and retrieved his book from where it had hit the ground. He sat back on top of the crate. The cat was still there, swishing its tail and giving him a look of contempt that Felix was sure mirrored his own. But Felix was not going to give up his seat just because Sylvain wanted to play a stupid game of hide and seek.

Sure enough, a girl appeared, hot on his trail. Her mouth was drawn down in a scowl. She looked like Sylvain’s usual type - except she was brandishing an axe. Sylvain usually liked his bimbos helpless and giggly with lots of long swishing hair. Clearly he’d misread this one.

“Have you seen Sylvain?” she snapped at Felix. 

“Sure. He’s under this crate I’m sitting on.”

“Haha. Hilarious. You’re his friend, right? Tell him Debbie says he’s a lying arsehole and she has four brothers who will no doubt be paying him a visit soon.”

“Four brothers? Is that all? Shouldn’t be too much of a problem for a guy like Sylvain.”

Debbie looked dubious. Perhaps he’d overdone it. 

“Tell him,” she said. And then she was gone in a cloud of perfumed rage. No doubt Ingrid would have to smooth things over again. Ingrid was a good smoother over. Sylvain’s stupid ass would probably be dead ten times over if it weren’t for her.

Sylvain knocked gently on the side of the crate. Felix stayed where he was. The crate shook but it was too heavy to lift when Felix was sat on top of it. 

"Felix, let me out. I'll suffocate!"

"I'll make some airholes then, you animal."

“What, I get a nickname too? Can you give me something more imaginative?”

“You don’t deserve the honour. Use the time in the crate to think about what you’ve done.”

“Felix, come on man-”

“You do realise this means we’re going to have to fight her brothers?”

“Well, duh! I thought you needed a new challenge and so I decided a girl with four brothers was perfect.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. You know me. I’m all heart. Can I come out of the crate now?”

“I’ll consider it.”

“Pretty please?”

Felix sighed and got up. He resigned himself to the fact that his book was not going to get read today. Sylvain toppled the crate onto its side as he emerged. The ginger cat immediately began to thoroughly explore this exciting new territory.

“Were you petting the kitty?” asked Sylvain.

“No!”

“Then what are you doing out here?”

Felix pursed his lips. Sylvain looked him up and down and then he snapped his fingers. “Oh! I get it. You’re hiding!”

Felix’s silence said everything. Sylvain moved closer, reaching out like he was going to put a hand on Felix’s shoulder. Then he seemed to think better of it and let it drop away.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk to him?”

“What’s the point? My father isn’t interested in what I have to say.”

"Yeah, but at least he speaks to you in something other than orders."

It was difficult for Felix to put his rage towards his father into words. The wounds there were deep, bleeding gashes that had eaten their way through him until he spent each day angry before he'd even begun it. 

"He just wants to make sure that when I die, I do it properly."

"Probably," Sylvain agreed. "Fathers, huh?" 

Sylvain's resigned expression made Felix's anger burn brighter. 

"I'm not a second chance because he screwed up with Glenn! And that goes for anybody! I'm not just another version, like getting a new cat because the old one died!" 

Sylvain shot a glance at the cat. It had curled up and gone to sleep inside the upturned crate. Apparently Felix's shouting didn't bother it. Felix wondered if looking at the cat was easier than looking at him. But then Sylvain's eyes found Felix’s again. 

"You don't need to tell me that. I'm _your_ friend. Even if I am an insatiable skirt chaser."__

_ _That emphasis on _your_ made Felix pause. To most people he'd been nothing but Glenn's baby brother. But Sylvain had always made time for him. Would probably still do so now if Felix wasn't busy telling him - and everyone else - where to go. ___ _

_ _ _ _"I'll probably die protecting you from an angry mob. How's that for 'honourable'?"_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"You'd die for me? Awww, Felix!"_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"That's not what I meant! Shut up and go tell Ingrid we're fighting a girl with an axe and her four brothers!"_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"OK - but you know you can't hide from your father for a whole moon, right? You'll have to deal with him eventually."_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"That doesn't mean I have to make it easy for him."_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"True."_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"Tell him I'm out."_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"Why don't you actually come out with me? I can teach you all my best lines!" _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _Felix snorted. "I have to study. And anyway, girls don't like me. They're always telling me I'm evil."_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"Look, I'm sure I can find you a girl interested in sword fighting."_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"That's what you said last time. And look how that turned out."_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"Well, you shouldn't have told that girl her sword was poorly forged and offered to buy her a new one. Girls are sensitive about these things."_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"I didn't know it was an heirloom!" _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"She chased us all the way through town."_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _The story wasn't finished. Felix hesitated and waited for Sylvain to continue but he didn't. Leaving it unfinished would be wrong though... Felix took a breath and said a sentence that shouldn't have felt like it left needles in his throat. _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"Glenn thought it was funny."_ _ _ _

_ _ _ _Glenn hadn't laughed much. So it had taken them all aback. Even Ingrid couldn't sustain her usual level of rage in the face of his uncontrolled laughter. _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _"Well, it _was_ funny."___ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Pause. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"It's OK to miss him, you know?" _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Felix didn't really know what to say to that. He'd heard those words before, but Sylvain saying them was weird, like someone else using his voice. So he said the same thing he always did when anyone asked him about Glenn, minus the swearing. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"Go away, Sylvain."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _There was no venom behind it, just resigned exhaustion. Maybe because Felix knew by now that Sylvain wasn't going to listen to him anyway. Sylvain shifted from foot to foot the way he did when he was trying to decide something. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"Were you studying out here? Fancy helping me out?" _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"With what?" _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Sylvain squinted as he tried to read the title of Felix’s book. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"Sword… Thinking? What a lame title."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"I have to read it. Team building."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"How is that supposed to help with the spaghetti towers?" _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Felix shrugged. The Professor worked in mysterious ways. Still, having some company out here would be OK. Just for a little while. Sylvain was… more tolerable than most. At least he knew what to expect. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"You can stay if you actually want to learn something and don't regale me with intimate details about Debbie."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"A very generous offer. I'll take it."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Sylvain plopped himself down inside the upended crate, careful not to disturb the cat which had claimed the far corner. He patted the spot next to him, an invitation. Felix took it, but only because there was nowhere else to sit. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _And when his father eventually tracked him down, maybe, just maybe it would be marginally easier if Sylvain was at his side._ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't even got to the time skip yet and I am writing fic. I just really really like Felix, he does not take any bullshit and I can appreciate that. Also he likes to talk about cats. 
> 
> I love the grey conflict between Felix and his father. I am not sure if more is said later on but the above is the impression I got after doing Felix's paralogue.


End file.
